Big Book of Fun : Tonka's Big Book of Trucks. **Write Off**
Written: Aug 26 '01 (Updated Jan 05 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: Brightly colored, affordable, tells about every kind of truck their is. Fun Fun Fun.
Cons: Smaller children can and will rip the pages.
The Bottom Line: This is a great book for any little boy or girl that has a fascination with anything that rolls. A must have in your little boys library.
Mininut's Full Review: Tonka Big Book of Trucks Books
This write off was to give Hollywood a good kick in the pants, and get some deserving books out there for folks to see on the big screen or at home. The premise was to take any novel or non-fiction book, and write a review of it, and cast the characters with the folks you think would play
the part the best. Tylenor picked the BBC, A&E and PBS since they have the best track record for not ruining a book. The participants were: Pageclot, Sundrop, Eplovejoy, Tylenor (hostess), Machkick, MiniNut and Arianej.
When I was approached about the idea of this write off I immediately thought it would be a lot of fun. Since I knew a lot of people would write on standard books or novels, I thought I would take a chance and write a review on one of my son’s favorite books. This book is under the non-fiction category since it does tell about actually trucks and what they do.
FACT
About the book
Tonka’s Big Book of Trucks is a 44-page book was written by Patricia Relf and was wonderfully illustrated by Thomas Lapadulla. This huge book is easy to hang on to for any little guy or gal. Each page is colorfully detailed and illustrated right down to the tiniest detail. As you go from page to page in this big book you will see the trucks in action and on the following page you will see each truck with a detailed description of what they are and what they do. Your child will love to learn all about trucks how they help in everyday tasks.
What Wayne loves about this book
The large colorful pictures really grab his attention. Each truck is designed right down to the tiniest detail. As he goes from page to page he says “Ooohh truck”. Not only does he love looking at the trucks but he also loves to look at the trucks in action. He can now say tractor and trailer thanks to this book. Wayne is 2 years old and loves this book, however it may not be that interesting to children over 6. I would reccomend this book for children between 1 years of age and 6 years of age.
What mommy loves about this book
This book has not only taught Wayne the differences between 40 different trucks but he has learned his primary colors and can say what color each truck is. The bright pictures really get his attention and help to keep his attention by showing the trucks in action. The only down side to this book is the thin pages. It is great to let smaller children to look at but watch out or they will rip the pages quickly and easily.
What you will see when you open up this book
What fun your little one will have watching Backhoe’s and Cement mixers build a house, watch them smile as Paver's and Rollers build a road and take an in depth look at trucks on the highways such as Tanker Trailers and Tow Trucks. It doesn’t stop there! Your little one will have hours of fun looking at trucks around town such as Garbage Trucks and Buses that will mesmerize them. They will get a glimpse at trucks in the city such as Street Cleaners and Cherry Pickers. Yes the and excitement continues as they watch trucks down on the farm with a look at Hay Mowers and Tractors and we will even head to the seaports and check out those ever popular Grapple Trucks and Forklifts. I know you are thinking to yourself that the fun must stop! But there is more, this book will show you trucks from the state fair such as Gooseneck Trailers and Monster Trucks and it will even take your child for a visit to a fire to witness rescue vehicles in action such as an Ambulance and a Ladder Truck. The last stop in this book will take your child to the space shuttle for an in depth look at Shuttle Transporters and Crew Egress Tanks.
FICTION
PBS makes a children’s book into a classic animated show PBS presents for the first time on television “The world of trucks. “ This animated classic is sure to capture the hearts of young and old. Come with us as we look into the world of trucks from Moving Vans to Graders. For the first time ever some of the top comedian’s and actors come together to give you a show like you wouldn’t believe. From old too new we have put together some of the best performers just for your enjoyment.
Casting voices
Loader - Tom Hanks works hard in this role by scooping, dumping and carrying heavy loads.
Backhoe - Jon Goodman digs deep into the earth with his big claw.
Bulldozer - Jay Leno pushes the dirt hard to make the ground smooth.
Cement Mixer - Chris Rock carrying concrete from site to site and trying to stay out of trouble.
Grader - Jackie Chan in his first ever-animated role scrapes away the dirt and keeps the road smooth.
Paver - Danny Glover shows off his skill at spreading layers of hot asphalt on the ground.
Dump Truck - Tony Danza Helping out the road builders by hauling everything from dirt to rocks.
Roller - Whoopi Goldberg a veteran of animation films follows behind Danny and smoothes out his work.
Tractor-Trailer - Goldie Hawn plays a two-part truck that hauls equipment and supplies from site to site.
Tanker Trailer - Emilio Estevez carries milk, gas and other liquids to each of the thirsty trucks.
Car Transport - Bill Murray shows his skills at hauling cars on his specially designed trailer.
Tow truck - Jim Carey makes every one mad with his practical jokes at hauling the cars away.
Recycler - Mel Gibbson is cleaning up the streets of its plastic and glass and making the world a better place.
Mail truck - Adam Sandler doesn’t let sleet or snow or rain keep him from his duty of delivering letters.
Delivery Van - Chevy Chase keeps himself busy by making deliveries to factories and warehouses.
School Bus - Michael J Fox stays busy driving all the children from school and home again.
Moving Van - Christopher Lloyd has the easy job of moving families into their new homes.
Cherry Picker - Dan Ackroyd spends his time high in the air with workers fixing the electricity and phones.
Police Van - Rob Schneider in his only serious role of picking up scum on the streets.
Street Cleaner - Chris Titus in his first ever movie role sweeps the streets to make it clean for pedestrians.
Tractor and Baler - Carol Burnet used her many years of acting experience to play a duel role.
Hay Mower - Stacy Keach was to busy pulling hay rakes to pay attention to what else was going on.
Hay Truck - Lilly Tomlin follows behind picking up after Stacy Keach.
Forklift - Rhett Butler has been taking some time off but could not resist playing this role.
Platform Loader - Rodney Dangerfield still get no respect but he gets to lift huge containers.
Gantry Crane - Joan Rivers helps out Rodney by placing those huge containers.
Grapple Truck - Joan Rivers prides herself in picking up strangely shaped loads.
Vending Trailer - Robin Williams was a hit with the kids being fully stocked with Ice cream and popcorn.
Horse Trailer - Oprah Winfrey also played a double role as the trailer and the truck that pulls it.
Gooseneck Trailer - Rosie Odonald was ready for a challenge and she got it in this role.
Monster Truck - Chuck Norris couldn’t help but sport those huge tires.
Fire Chiefs Truck - Bette Midler is used to being in charge so this role fits her perfectly.
Ladder Truck - Rhea Pearlman is the little lady with a big ladder and a big role.
Pumper - Danny Devito steps in to help Rhea on all fires.
Ambulance - Daryl Hammond playing President Clinton is as good in this role as he was on S-N-L.
Crew Egress Tank - Wayne Brady moves the astronauts away from the launching pad in case of an emergency.
Van - Eddie Murphy shuttles the engineers as well as gives them a good laugh.
Flatbed truck - Drew Carey sports 40 wheels as he carries satellites to the shuttle.
Shuttle transporter - Dick Van Dyke has been around a while so he gets the privilege of playing the largest crawler truck in the world.
In Closing
This book is great fun for little boys and even little girls that love trucks. You can find other big Tonka books at your local bookstore or online at Amazon.com. Whether you are looking for a small book shaped like a truck or a flap book on trucks Tonka is sure to have one. Wayne loves this book and we spend a little time everyday looking through the book and pointing out all the trucks. I highly recommend this book.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.